Improvements underway in Cocalico school buildings

Summertime means construction time for schools, and the Cocalico School District is no exception to the rule this year.

Work is ongoing at the administration building, where crews are painting walls and installing new carpeting this week. Some offices were shifted to accommodate the work, but the building remains open.

At a school board meeting July 24, the board also agreed to make $183,212 in payments for other projects around the district. They include:

* $148,968 for new roofing fascia at Cocalico Middle School;

* $24,719 for ongoing changes to the Cocalico High School guidance office, which was no longer using much of its career counseling space. The area is being redesigned to accommodate more technology and better advising services;

* $8,900 for bench refinishing and painting at the high school;

* $98 for new outlets and power splinters to be used in the renovated high school library, now designed to reflect increased use of technology.

In related news, the board approved the upcoming sale or donation of 2,711 used and sometimes “antiquated” books from the library’s print collection.

Business Manager Sherri Stull said this would be an opportunity for the district’s library staff to offload titles on everything from geography to Tupperware, including no-longer popular fiction titles dating to the 1960s and 1970s.

In other action, the board agreed to new contracts with special education providers in the region. ELANCO, Ephrata, and the NHS School will be tapped to provide autistic and emotional support services, life skills classes and programs for students with multiple disabilities on an as-needed basis.

The board also signed off on nearly $500,000 on extracurricular coaching and advising salaries for staff members who lead teams and artistic and academic activities outside of normal school hours. Staff members are paid on a point basis over and above their annual salary.

The board, with four members absent, also agreed to a new, three-year salary guide for such supplemental contracts.

Positions range from nine points for several assistant varsity sports coach to 41 for the marching band director and 48 for the head football coach. They are currently paid $162 per point, but that increases to $166 next year and will jump again in 2019 and 2020.